Lower revenue analysis raises new questions about soccer stadium

New Indy Eleven Professional Soccer players, Babalakin "Baba" Omosegbon, a defender, and Nathan Sprenkel, a goalkeeper, hold up their new Indy Eleven jerseys after being introduced to fans. Second to left is Indy Eleven owner Ersal Odemir and on the right is president/general manager of Indy Eleven, Peter Wilt The organizers and staff of Indy Eleven Professional Soccer announced two new players, and their first assistant coach Monday, November 11, 2013, at the Indiana Historical Society. Doug McSchooler / for The Star(Photo: Doug McSchooler)

The Indiana House approved a bill Thursday that would help finance a proposed Indy Eleven soccer stadium, but an independent analysis has called into question the team owner's estimate of revenue the facility could generate.

Some lawmakers during debate also said supporting a new sports stadium is not a wise step because Indianapolis has bigger priorities, such as combating crime.

Senate Bill 308, which originally dealt only with a bond issue for Fort Wayne's Memorial Coliseum, was passed by a 58-35 vote. Now, the measure will go to a conference committee.

"We have serious issues we need to address before we go build another stadium," Rep .Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, said during House debate on Thursday.

"There is no way I can support an $87 million investment that's only going to create about 900 jobs, of which I've been told only about 200 are full-time and the rest are part-time," she said. "People cannot live off of part-time, seasonal jobs."

Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, also voiced reservations about the financial plan for the stadium because it could be a high-risk proposition. But he said he voted for the measure for now to continue the debate.

Indy Eleven founder Ersal Ozdemir, CEO of Keystone Construction Corp. and a coalition of soccer supporters recently went to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Tim Brown to request support for building an 18,500-seat outdoor, multipurpose Downtown soccer stadium costing $87 million.

He earlier told lawmakers the stadium would generate $5.1 million in ticket taxes a year on revenue of $51 million generated at the stadium from soccer games and other events bringing millions in revenue at the stadium.

But an analysis by the Legislative Services Agency, an independent body advising the legislature, estimated this week the soccer team would generate just $2 million to $4 million a year in ticket sales, significantly less than the team's estimate of $51 million.

However, LSA's estimate is based only on soccer events and the capacity of the team's current 11,000-seat site, the Carroll Stadium at IUPUI. Their opening game is April 12, and the team has sold 7,000 season tickets so far.

After Thursday's House vote, Ozdemir said in a statement the organization is "grateful for the positive show of support." Ozdemir added the organization received LSA's report Thursday afternoon and is analyzing it.

Indy Eleven would be the main tenant of the proposed new stadium, which would become part of the portfolio of the Capital Improvement Board. The board also manages the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, Victory Field and Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Under the bill, the soccer stadium is added into the Marion County's Professional Sports Development Area. The bill allows this area to capture an additional $2 million a year in bonding authority from state income-tax and sales-tax revenue for 30 years. That money could be used to back a bond issue for the stadium.

Brown emphasized there would be no general impact to taxpayers. The funds, he said, would come from money collected by an admission tax or growth in sales and income in that development area.

What if the soccer games or other events don't attract the numbers the owner expects?

An amendment added by DeLaney requires the team or league's financial guarantee of at least 50 percent of the amount of public financing. The expectation is that tax revenue generated from the district would cover the rest.